Corona Diary 01: The virus exposes our own evils

A road full of people at Kawran Bazar, the largest kitchen market in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on March 22. (Photo by Rock R. Rozario)

On March 26 evening, I went outside at my neighborhood in central Dhaka to get some money from an ATM booth, and to buy some essential grocery items and vegetables. It is because unlike most people I didn't resort to panic-buying due to novel coronavirus outbreak and didn't hoard too much daily essentials for a month or so, which not only triggered a price hike but also caused misery for poor and low income people. I took my wife with me because it could be difficult to carry all the goods alone. We covered our faces with masks and walked in safe distance from people on the roads for protection.

The roads and the streets were empty and deserted, an unusual scene in this busy and crowded city, which is only seen twice a year during Eid festivals. All restaurants, eateries and fast food centers were shut, so were most shops except some groceries and vegetable stands. We somehow managed to buy what we needed for our family to survive in coming days. Staying home continuously is often boring, but this is what we all must do in this crucial time. 

During our time outside, we saw a number of Muslim men wearing skullcaps returning from mosques after evening prayer. It seemed they were still convinced nothing would happen to them for defying government order to stay home for safety and most of them didn't wear masks. They are probably on the same page with hundreds of people I saw in Kawran Bazar, Dhaka's largest kitchen market, last Sunday, buying as much as daily essentials frantically but without any protection. And of course, they have the same mindset of people who resorted to a mad-rush from Dhaka to rural areas on March 24, immediately after Bangladesh government declared 10-day general holiday to allow people to stay home to stop spreading of the killer virus. If not all, most of them thought it was a time for vacation.

We also met and walked with a Muslim man wearing a face mask and returning home with groceries. He was upset and angry like us with the response of many people to pandemic coronavirus outbreak. "How strange it is some people think this is a Chinese problem as Chinese people eat all the nasty things. Nothing will happen to Muslims as they eat halal (pure) things only," this middle-aged man said. "Saudi Arabia and Iran are suffering badly due to the virus. Are these not Muslim countries?. He went on to say,"So many people take bribes and earn black money, which they don't find haram (forbidden). They think going to the mosque and praying inside would cleanse their sins. This is ridiculous. Let them mingle together and go to heaven!"

We couldn't agree more what this man said as the world is at an unprecedented war against this deadly virus that has already killed more than 24,000 people and infected more than half a million in up to 200 countries globally. Our government and doctors, nurses and medical staff are battling hard against the tide with little resources against the virus. The world is shivering in fear and grief as even most developed nations keep counting many precious human lives lost in recent weeks. How come people in this country can be so crazy!

However, we were not surprised about the public response in the time of Corona as we have grown up seeing how much double-standards many people can maintain and how ignorant but opportunistic many people can be in this country. Not all are the same, but I think this pandemic virus is once again exposing our own evils. Whether we lose or win this difficult war will depend much on how much we can overcome these evils.

#StayHome #ItCouldSaveLives